Snapshots
by The Silent Scream
Summary: Moments in the lives of Willow and Pat, tie-ins or add-ons to the various stories I got out there. Will vary in genre and rating. Willow / OC.
1. 1 Handling the Loss

Author's Note: So, for quite a few of the stories I wrote, there are small scenes which fit nowhere, along with small, fluffy one-shots dealing with the daily life of a witch and her demon when they are not fighting monsters and saving the world. Thus, I decided to start this as some sort of experiment, where I'll put all these little one-shots whenever the mood to get one out of the system hits me. They'll (hopefully) span a multitude of genres and ratings, and I hope you'll enjoy them!

Disclaimer: Buffy is, sadly, not mine. Neither are any of her friends. Oh well.

* * *

No more further ado, I suppose, so let's go straight to business - this first little piece is set a few days after the final battle in Darkness Fall II: Devil in the Gateway. Summed up in short, I guess it's best said this way: Pat has to deal, and Willow helps.

Handling the Loss

She stands in front of the mirror, unaware of how long she's been doing this already, and just stares at her reflection; even this is different now, it looks strangely flat und lacking, something she knows she'll get used to, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Momentarily, she feels the urge to slam her fist against the reflecting surface and shatter it in a thousand pieces so she won't have to look at this anymore; then, she fights the urge until it vanishes, telling herself that it won't help, that it won't make what was done to her undone.

"Pat?" she then hears Willow call out to her from the living room, and she flinches, only now realizing how long she's been in the bathroom already, just standing there and staring at herself; and after another hard look at herself, she reaches up and pulls the eyepatch back down, covering the ruin which had been her left eye just a few days ago.

It still looks horrible, all the white and knotty scar tissue over the eye socket, she thinks to herself as she calls back, tells her partner that she'll be right there, amazed at how steady and calm her voice sounds; if it had reflected her thoughts, it would have trembled, maybe even might have cracked, but there wasn't even the tiniest trace of those feelings in it, and she sounded just as always, confident and strong.

Briefly, she considers giving up the masquerade, letting her lover see her true emotions; she knows that Willow's worried about her, and that the witch by now figured out that she's keeping her true feelings about what happened to her hidden, from all of them, something the rest is probably aware of, too, but they all know her well enough to know that, if she'll talk to anyone, it'll be her lover, and so, no one pushes her, not even said partner.

Another look into the mirror, a short one now, just to make sure that the eyepatch is sitting correctly and covers everything up; Xander says it makes her look badass, and when he told her that for the first time, it'd made her smile and agree with him, but now, she can't see that anymore, all she sees is someone who'll be severely limited in daily life from now on, with a major blind side and a lack of depth perception which might endanger her life and the life of the woman she loves in a critical moment.

_Cripple, _she acidly thinks to herself, then puts on a straight face and finally marches back to the living room, where Willow is waiting for her on the couch, with pizza and cold beer, a small celebration of their victory, the devil defeated, another apocalypse averted.

Yes, they won, she thinks to herself as she smiles at the redhead and sits down next to her, once again keeping how she feels from showing on her face as she picks up a slice of pizza, they won… But now, after some days to let it sink in, she can't help asking herself if maybe, the price they'd paid has been too high this time.

* * *

It's night, and they're having another celebration, a more intimate one this time, one which involves kissing and caressing and holding each other close; and even though they are naked by now, their clothes strewn all over the bedroom, the eyepatch is still there, hiding the gruesome scars from view in the warm light of the nightstand lamp.

For a while, there's almost no noise, except for the sound of their kisses, tender at first, then growing more passionate, soft moans and the movement of skin on skin; and then Willow pulls back and looks at her, and her gaze is worried, but warm and loving, the same warmth and love in her voice when she speaks up, only saying three words, but enough to make her gulp. "Take it off."

"…I'd rather not", she replies, and for the first time, her voice does tremble, betraying just the tiniest hint of how she feels, of how deeply she got hurt on so many levels, and even though it's just so small, Willow notices, of course she does, and while she keeps holding her gaze, she reaches up and runs her fingers over her cheek, a tender, reassuring touch, a silent promise that it's going to be okay.

And then, her fingers find the eyepatch, and she tenderly removes it, with such gentleness that it almost makes her cry; for a few seconds, Willow just looks, as if she's getting the first good look at the scarring, before her hand starts moving again, and her fingertips run over the scars, taking in the rough texture.

Her gaze never wavers, and she doesn't say a word, but she doesn't have to; instead, her hand slides from the ruined eye to the back of her lover's neck, and she pulls her close for another kiss while she wraps both arms around her now, and the hurting stops, really stops, and all is well.

They won, Pat thinks again as she holds her close and kisses her back, revels in her taste and the feeling of their bodies pressed against each other, they won again, and they are here, alive and well, safe and sound, at least for now; and then, Willow's hands start moving again, entangling in her hair as they keep kissing, and nothing else matters.

Nothing else matters, all is well, she's in her love's arms, and she's home.


	2. 2 Through Their Eyes - Buffy

Author's Note: So, I figured it might be nice to accept prompts for this. So, if you have a scenario you'd like to see, you can either leave them in a review or PM me with them and I'll see if I can come up with something ;) For now, let us take a look through Buffy's eyes at the couple, if inspiration hits, I might do similar ones about the rest of the gang, as well :)

Through Their Eyes - Buffy

At the beginning, Buffy had been full of doubt.

She never had said anything about it to Willow, not after that one talk out in the hallway; the witch had been too happy, the new relationship, as unconventional as it was, with her lover being a centuries-old demon, had brought her out of the dull despair she'd been living in ever since Tara had been killed, and as her best friend, she'd been the last one who'd want to take this away from her.

Then, she had seen Pat fight, really fight, for the first time, and had seen how far she willing to go to protect Willow, nearly getting herself killed in the process; and afterwards, the demon had kept proving that devotion to the witch, more than once risking limb and life to make sure she'd be okay, no matter how often Willow told her to stop doing that and that she'd only end up getting killed.

Still, the Slayer had been worried, asking herself now and again how things might have turned out of Pat hadn't fallen in love with the witch; after all, the black haired woman had come to Sunnydale to kill her, and even though she knew that the demon was strong, she also knew that she would have won, should it have come to a fight between them – they had fought once, in earnest and not for sparring, and even though Pat would never admit it, she would have had the upper hand, if it had been to the death. Thus, winning hadn't been her biggest concern about the situation; what had worried her was what it might have done to Willow if she'd been forced to kill her newly found girlfriend, not wanting to imagine the consequences it might have had for the redhead's mental health.

So, she had kept those doubts to herself, and had just watched, and waited, waited to see if anything would change, if perhaps, the demon's feelings would vanish into nothingness and she'd turn on them; whenever she was around the couple though, she could see nothing but the unconditional love and admiration the demon felt for the witch, and after a while, she stopped worrying, and instead began enjoying having someone by her side who was almost as powerful as she was, and could fry most of the opponents into the next century with the fire which burst from her hands whenever it was needed.

And then, they had gone up against the devil, and one of the many fights during the whole mess had ended with Amy taking Willow down with her as they had fallen into the chasm which had been powering the devil's witch; they all had been sure that this had killed the redhead, that she was gone for good, and she had seen the demon break, for the first time ever since they had met.

And even though there had been so much shock and pain and disbelief about what had happened to Willow, Buffy had begun to doubt again, asking herself what Pat might do now, with her lover gone, if this might make her quit fighting on their side or if it even might bring her back to her initial goal, and set them against each other; she'd kept those doubts to herself though, never saying them out loud, but still Pat had proven her wrong, not once mentioning that she might leave, simply remaining with them in the fight against their opponent.

Thus, all her doubts had been gone by the time they had realized that Willow was alive and had found her, rescuing her from the grasp of Amy and her cronies; and not long after that, they had fully won the fight, and ever since then, none of her concerns about the demon's allegiance had resurfaced.

It had been strange, at first, she now reflected as they were out at the Bronze for a night of relaxation and entertainment, watching with a slight smile on her face how Pat was mumbling something into Willow's ear that made the witch blush, then giggle, to know that her best friend was dating a demon now, the very being she had been chosen to fight; on the other hand though, stranger things had happened in the history of Slayers and demons and vampires, and in the end, all that counted was that it worked out and that Pat was making Willow happy – and from the way the redhead smiled at the taller woman and tenderly touched her hand, it was more than obvious that this was exactly what the demon was doing.


	3. 3 The Name Game

This one's for Emerald Demona ;) I hope you'll enjoy it, I made myself giggle while writing it... :D  
Summary: What's in a name? A lot, as the Scoobies have to learn...  
Genre: My attempt at humor.

The Name Game

"It's my birthday party, and I want it", Dawn repeated stubbornly, looking as if she was about to stomp her foot for emphasis, "come on guys! You said we'd do what I want cause it's my day!"

"But I didn't think it'd involve this", Buffy sighed, exchanging unhappy looks with the rest of the group; unimpressed, Dawn just glared at her, and after standing up to said glare for half a minute, the Slayer threw up her arms in exasperation, the same emotion in her voice when she went on. "Fine, fine! I'm in, or I'll never hear the end of this. Guys?"

"I enjoy the idea", Anya was the first one to agree, not really surprising anyone, "getting to ask embarrassing things and no one can scold me for it!"

"If she's in, so am I", Xander shrugged, their agreement prompting Buffy to give them a grateful look – before she looked at Willow and Pat, the witch nodding her head after a moment as well, making her partner do the same a moment later.

"Under one condition", the demon then added, giving Anya a stern look, "no questions about our sex life from anyone, and with anyone, I mean you, Anya."

"Damn", Anya pouted, making the taller woman roll her good eye; before possible questions about anyone's sex life could be discussed further though, Dawn let out a happy squeal, then hurriedly sat down on the couch again and gestured at the rest to do the same, beaming at them once they all had taken a seat again.

"Okay, I start, cause it's my birthday", she then declared, "Buffy. Truth or dare?"

"Why am I not surprised", Buffy grumbled, already regretting that she had agreed to this, "but, well, fine. Dare."

The moment she said the word and saw the triumphant smile on Dawn's face, she knew she had made the wrong choice, something which only got confirmed at her younger sister's next words, the slightly smug smirk never leaving the teenager's face as she spoke. "Great, I dare you to take me on patrol with you the next time you go!"

"She's got you there", Pat commented, hiding a smirk of her own by hurriedly taking a deep gulp from her beer can when Buffy glared at her; the blonde let out a huff, then a vaguely agreeing noise before she let her gaze wander over her friends, finally settling on Anya.

"Anya", she made sure the ex-demon knew she had been chosen, "truth or dare?"

"Dare", Anya replied without hesitation, only to have a look of horror appear on her face when, with a smirk that looked a lot like Dawn's, Buffy got up in response and gestured at the stairway, false sweetness in her voice when she told the ex-demon what she was about to do and what the brunette would have to do in succession.

"No, please", Anya pleaded in response, her words falling on deaf ears though as Buffy was already hurrying off; and not even a minute later, she came back to the living room, the object she was carrying making Anya recoil in horror.

"Buffy, that's mean", Willow told her best friend, even though she couldn't keep a slight smile off her face, as well; shrugging, Buffy pointed out that a dare was supposed to be scary or at least challenging, then held the stuffed bunny out to Anya, the ex-demon looking as if she wanted to vanish into the cushion of her armchair in response.

"Come on", Buffy coaxed, wiggling the bunny slightly, "you just have to take it and cuddle it for ten seconds. That's all."

"That's all, she says!" Anya cried out in response, looking at the toy with a mixture of fear and disgust, "I'd rather make out with a slimy chaos demon than touch this… thing! But fine, give it!"

And with those words, she snatched the bunny out of Buffy's grasp and, with a look of pure disgust, pressed it to her chest, her eyes squeezed shut; gigging quietly, the Slayer timed her, and the second she told her she had done it, the ex-demon tossed the toy aside, looking as if she wanted to run off to the bathroom and wash her hands – and maybe throw up a bit right afterwards.

"That was mean", she told Buffy, making Willow nod empathically; she shuddered, then cleared her throat and took a moment to figure out whom to choose, not surprising anyone when she picked Xander, and, when he told her "Truth", asking him how much he enjoyed having orgasms with her.

After that awkwardness had been dealt with, Xander chose Willow, and upon her response of "Dare" asking her to stand up and recite any poem she might think of to the group, well aware of how much she disliked doing such things; this brought him glares from both the witch and her girlfriend, but she did it, with the shortest poem she could think of, looking flustered when she sat back down and prompting Pat to place a calming hand on her back, making her smile briefly at her – before she made it her turn, earning a smirk from the taller woman.

"First, I knew you'd pick me", she then claimed, "and second, since all the dares have been dangerous or horrible so far, I'll go with truth."

"Good", Willow gave back with a hint of mischief in her voice, instantly making Pat regret her choice, "cause I got an amazing question. I want you tell me your real name."

"What do you mean, my real name", the demon tried to act dumb, "you know my name."

"I know that terrible alias you chose when you came here, Miss Pat Patterson", Willow shot back at once, making the rest giggle and chuckle, "but surely that wasn't the name you were given when you were born! Come on, we've been together for years and I don't know that. Tell!"

"Fine", Pat grumbled after a moment, looking though as if she was ready to jump up and bolt, "it's…hrrmnce."

"What?" Buffy was the first to ask, frowning, "I didn't get that, you were mumbling too much. Guys?"

"Didn't get it either", "Nope, no way", "That doesn't count", the rest agreed with her, Willow giving the demon a strict look afterwards and telling her that she had to repeat it, earning a heavy sigh from the taller woman before she did just that, stunned silence filling the room after her little confession. "Okay, fine. It's Prudence, alright? Remember I was born in the eighteen-hundreds? We had such terrible names back then."

For a while, no one said anything, all of them just staring at her, trying to connect that name to her, to the confident and rash and sometimes rather short-tempered demon; then, finally, Buffy and Willow startled giggling while Anya shook her head, sounding absurdly annoyed when she spoke up. "What the Hell kind of a name is that for a demon?!"

"Hey!" Pat protested at once, crossing her arms over chest, somehow managing to do so without dropping her beer or spilling any of it, "I wasn't born as a demon! Curse, remember? And also, eighteen-hundreds?"

"Whatever you say, _Prudence_", Anya shot back, earning an annoyed "Shut up!", not appearing all too impressed though, not even bothering to hide her grin.

"…okay", Willow brought out between giggles, ignoring the sour look she got from Pat for her laughter, "we'll stick to Pat. I promise."

"Thanks", the taller woman dryly gave back, then took another sip of her beer, only to nearly spit it back out when the witch continued. "Unless you really mess up. Then you'll know you're in gigantic trouble."

"Hrmph", Pat let out in response, making them all giggle once more; for a while, they all were laughing too much to say anything, then finally, slowly started calming down again, Buffy clearing her throat as she looked at the demon, giving her best to sound sincere when she apologized to her.

"But you have to admit", she then added, making the taller woman frown again, "it's just too funny. You, with that name? My God."

"Yeah, whatever", Pat gave back with an eyeroll, making the blonde giggle again, "can we please move on now? I do believe it's my turn."

"You're right", Willow gave back, nearly bursting into giggles again before she managed to regain her self-control, "it is your turn… Prudence."

"Stop that!"


	4. 4 Living Arrangements

Author's Note: Short and fluffy. Pat asks an important question and momentarily startles Willow. Set somehwere between Sanity Fair and Forget Me Not. :)

Living Arrangements

"That was way too exhausting", Willow sighed, dropping down on the large double bed and throwing her arm over her eyes; smirking, the demon studied her for a moment, then shrugged, only remembering afterwards that, thanks to her position, Willow couldn't see her doing that.

"I think it was okay", she thus said out loud, pulling off her shirt and momentarily distracting Willow from what she had wanted to reply with the sight of her rather athletic upper body; the witch took a moment to let her gaze wander over the abs she knew to be rock-hard from nights of cuddling, then her eyes met her lover's, a slight smile curling her lips as she finally replied.

"Of course you'd say that", she told her, propping herself up on her elbows for a better look, "you're a demon. If you don't get to beat anything up for too long, you get cranky. So a patrol during which we run into a vamp's nest is just your cup of tea, isn't it?"

"Yes", Pat confirmed, taking off her pants and then changing into her pyjama, to the redhead's dismay thus covering up, "but if I'm not mistaken, Buffy enjoyed it, too."

"She's the Slayer", Willow reminded her, "she's supposed to enjoy that. I, on the other hand, am a mere civilian, so I get to complain."

"Right", Pat gave back with a laugh, the sound automatically making the witch smile as well, "a mere civilian who just happens to be a powerful witch and finished off two of those vamps all on her own."

"Right", the redhead agreed with a wink, earning another chuckle from her girlfriend; and even though they had been together for almost ten months now, the thought that this woman really was her girlfriend still seemed unreal to her, considering that she had come here to kill her best friend and, at the beginning, had been faking all of the romantic feelings she had displayed, during the last months having proven more than once though that by now, her love for the witch was real and how far she would go to protect her.

"I see something is a bit off here", the demon now distracted her from those thoughts, making her look at her again, "cause I'm in my pyjamas, but you are not."

"Yeah", Willow had to agree, moving to sit up to change as well, only to end up pushed back down as the taller woman had moved to the edge of the bed with surprising speed; her eyes briefly widened, then Pat's mouth was on hers, keeping her from asking what was going on, a content sigh escaping her as the kiss deepened.

And then, the black haired woman's hands moved to her blouse and quickly unbuttoned it; taking the hint, she arched her back, making it easier for the demon to remove the blouse, forgetting about it the moment it was tossed off the bed and hit the floor.

"Seems like patrol had quite the… effect on you again", Willow brought out as Pat pulled back from the kiss, then moved to kiss her neck, letting out a vaguely agreeing growl in response; when they had started spending the nights together, those growls at first had startled the witch, with their quite feral sound, something the demon normally only let out when she was annoyed or pissed off, but by now, she identified them as a sound of lust, as well, and thus, only found herself growing more excited as she tightened her embrace around the taller woman, closing her eyes and allowing herself to focus fully on her touch as all the excitement of the patrol was pushed aside.

* * *

Afterwards, they just snuggled for a while, regaining their breath and letting their racing hearts slow down; when Pat finally spoke up though, and broke the silence, she nearly sent Willow's heart rate through the roof again, only realizing that perhaps, she should have beaten around the bush a bit more when the witch looked at her with wide eyes in response to her question. "Want to move in with me?"

"What?" Willow nearly squeaked in reply, sitting up so fast that she nearly made herself dizzy, "are you serious?"

"Oh jeez, I did that all wrong, didn't I", Pat almost fretted in response, now looking and sounding worried, "Buffy told me there has to build up, that I can't just ask, I'm sorry… I know this is a big thing for couples, but…"

"You're babbling", the witch interrupted her, smiling slightly again now, "that's my job. And, well, Buffy was right, you shouldn't have just asked like that out of the blue, that kinda startled me, but… Yes, I want to."

"Great", Pat beamed, her worries instantly forgotten, making the redhead giggle in response, "awesome. When?"

"As fast as possible?" Willow suggested in response, snuggling up to her again, "living in the dorm is getting tiresome, anyway, and I'm spending most of my free time here as it is, so…"

"My reasoning exactly", the demon nodded, touching the witch with how happy she sounded, "great. This'll be awesome."

"I hope so", the witch giggled, snuggling closer to her partner again; nodding once again, Pat pulled her into a tender embrace, holding her close and caressing her hair as they started talking about when Willow moved in and how they would handle said moving, both of them looking forward to taking this not unimportant big step in their relationship.


	5. 5 Queen of her World

Author's Note: Some songs just strike a chord in the craziness that is my brain, and then the idea has to get out. This is the result of one of those moments - the particularly inspiring lines and the band, as well as the song name, are right at the beginning. :) I tried a bit of a new thing with the first part, but I'm not sure it actually works out. Let me know :)

Summary: Willow once again learns just how far Pat is willing to go for her. Love can really drive people - and demons - to desperate actions. Set some time after Darkness Falls II.

* * *

Queen of her World

_I'd die for you, I'd cry for you_

_Ease my pain and release my soul_

_Freedom Call – Queen of my World_

It was the perfect summer day, and of course, they spent it on the beach, swimming in the pleasantly warm sea and, when they all got hungry, grilling burgers, aided by the help of Pat's fire, a pleasant and happy day, one of the few completely perfect ones, one which created sweet memories for them they could hold on to whenever things

(it was useless)

got too bad. It had been the perfect day, one of the few they could enjoy like that, without monsters and vampires and

(it was useless, Willow thought, had to think)

danger for all of them, just pleasant time they spent with each other, their friends, their family, having fun, even when Anya was saying inappropriate things again and when Pat and Buffy got into a splashing contest which soaked

(it was useless, Willow thought, had to think, as she knelt there, crimson)

them all from head to toe. But they all had been too happy and cheerful to get mad, and the warm sun dried them again quickly once they had left the water, rendering Pat's not fully serious offer to help the drying along with her flames moot, to the relief of all of them, even though they knew she'd never

(it was useless, Willow thought, had to think, as she knelt there, crimson soaking her pants, hot and sticky and so much, so much of it)

hurt any of them.

She'd never hurt any of them, but she was reckless, so reckless, and Willow had so often told her that she had to take care, had to stop risking her life

(it was useless, Willow thought, had to think, as she knelt there, crimson soaking her pants, hot and sticky and so much, so much of it, and she cried and begged her to be okay, it was useless how often she told her because—

—because she just wouldn't listen, and she couldn't afford to dwell on memories now, not now, not after what just had happened, her partner, her _lover, _lying bleeding in front of her, after having taken yet another hit for her, one of so many, one which was so much more dangerous than the previous ones.

All around her, the fighting was still going on, but she noticed nothing of it, too focused on her lover to notice how Buffy was finishing one of the demons off with the aid of her sword, running him through and pinning him to the wall behind him; on the other side of the room, Giles fired the crossbow, hitting another one of them square in the chest and sending him down as well.

The few which still were left snarled and growled at the group, waving their spears threateningly; and from one of those spears, small droplets of blood flew at the motion and hit the floor, the sight nearly being enough to push Willow over the edge, a hint of hysteria in her voice as she grip on the motionless woman's shoulders tightened.

"Wake up, please, wake up", she told her again, holding back the urge to shake her, knowing she would make it only worse, would only cause the dreadful injury to spill even more blood, the spear having gone all the way through, and having done even more damage when it had been ripped back out, tearing a hole the size of a child's fist into her back.

"Come on", the witch tried once more, fighting hard to hold back her tears; she couldn't believe that this happened, not after the fight had gone so well at first, the four of them having the upper hand with ease, Buffy and Pat dealing with close combat while Giles helped them out with his crossbow and she had aided them with spells; and then, one of the demons had managed to get past them and had ran at her, and then her lover had been there, pushing her aside, her good eye widening as the spearhead had been rammed through her.

And now, she laid there, bleeding out onto the cold stone floor, and Willow knew that she was slowly dying; if she had been awake, and able to stand up, she could have healed it with ease, but she was out cold, and the redhead knew deep inside that, if she didn't do something, her partner would never wake up again.

The magic within her stirred before she even realized what was happening, an eerie calm coming over her as she placed both hands on the dreadful wound; she heard Buffy call out to her, but ignored her, a soft breeze coming up out of nowhere, the fighting noises in the background suddenly far away and unimportant as she focused on her lover's flesh and blood, on the damage which had been inflicted to the tissue and the vital organs.

Under different circumstances, her stomach would have turned at those thoughts, to the point that it might have led to her throwing up; now though, the strange calm which had come over her kept the mental images from upsetting her, and even when a bright white glow started to form around her hands, she didn't react much to it, only giving it a look of mild interest before she closed her eyes and prayed to the Goddess, asking her to guide the magic, to make her partner whole again, to keep her from having to go through the loss of yet another loved one.

"Willow!" Buffy called out behind her again, but once more, she paid her no mind, now fully focused on her magic and her prayer; vague, fleshy noises reached her ears, almost making her open her eyes, but she forced herself to keep up her concentration, despite the exhaustion she already could feel taking hold, pouring more and more of her magic into the bright light until it finally became too much and she passed out.

* * *

"…shouldn't have been so reckless", was the first thing she heard as she came back around, Buffy sounding vaguely annoyed as she spoke on, "who knows what might have happened if she hadn't passed out!"

A slight grunt was the only response the Slayer got, but it was enough to snap Willow all the way out of her magic-induced oblivion; within the blink of an eye, she was wide awake and tried to sit up, only to have Pat push her back down and give her a strict look, lessened a bit by the warmth and love in her gaze.

"Don't get up yet", the demon then told her, as if to make sure the message had been received, "you really overdid it this time."

"…reckless", Willow whispered in reply, then even managed to swat her lightly on the arm, earning a raised eyebrow from her and a snort from Buffy; she took a moment to glance down, make sure the wound was gone, then the exhaustion took over again and she fell into the darkness once more, unconcerned now that she knew her lover was alright.

* * *

"I wish you'd stop doing that", the witch sighed several hours later, back in their home now, cuddled up against her partner, "risking your life like that. I almost lost you today. If the magic hadn't healed you…"

"Well, it did", Pat gave back, not sounding all too perturbed by the thought of almost getting killed off, "so no worries there."

"Of course there are worries", Willow shot back at once, sitting up slightly so she could give her a look so fierce that it was almost a glare, "one of these days, you will get yourself killed, protecting me! I couldn't handle it if…"

"And I couldn't handle it if you got hurt or even died because of my failure", Pat interrupted her, not unkindly, "so don't tell me you want me to stop, because I can't. I told you once that you're my life, and I meant that. I'll die for you if I have to."

In response, all Willow could do was look at her, stunned into silence by this unexpected little tirade; she knew that talking about such feelings wasn't exactly easy for her partner, and that she'd rather show her feelings with actions than words, the redhead not having been prepared for such heartfelt words.

"I mean it", the demon told her, as if to make sure she had gotten her point across, "and I'll never stop protecting you, no matter if I need to risk my life for it or not. So don't ask me to stop. Please."

"…alright", the witch gave back after a moment, snuggling up to her again, a thick lump in her throat all at once making it hard for her to speak, "but at least promise that you'll try to be more careful in the future… I love you, and I don't want to lose you…"

"I love you, too", Pat reassured her immediately, tenderly caressing her upper arm and shoulder as she held her close, "and I'll try. That's the best I can do."

"It's fine with me", Willow reassured her, then kept her from saying more with a gentle kiss, feeling the taller woman's embrace tighten around her; deep inside, she still feared that one day, Pat's desire to protect her might go too far and that it would cost her so much more than they both were willing to pay, but those fears were forced aside as she focused fully on her lover and on how good it felt to be so close to her, their feelings for each other once more taking all the fear and pain away.


	6. 6 Remembrance Day, Part I

Author's Note: This is another request, and since it is turning out longer than I thought it would be (still working on it), I decided to post it in parts. Here's the first one, the next one will follow soon :)

Summary: Meddling with magic can have unforeseen consequences, as Dawn has to learn - even though she's not the one affected by it. The outcome of her spell leads to a situation Willow and Pat thought they never would have to face, and brings complicated emotions to the surface.

* * *

Remembrance Day

"And you really did ask Buffy about this?" Anya wanted to know, giving Dawn a strict look, "you know what happened the last time you tried a spell! And the time before that!"

"Yes, I know", Dawn gave back with a roll of her eyes, giving her best to hide her impatience, "but she said it's okay, really, it's an easy spell, Willow has done it a million times!"

"Willow is an experienced witch though", Anya pointed out, "and why do you want to do just this spell, anyway? It's not like we need to look for a demon right now, right? Or did Pat get lost?"

"No, she did not", the teenager gave back with a roll of her eyes, "but she told me it was one of the first spells she tried with Tara. So it's a beginner spell, and I wanna try it."

"Fine", Anya sighed, taking a quick look at the ingredients Dawn had piled on the counter, making sure the young girl really was just buying things needed for the locator spell, and nothing else; her previous tries to do magic had backfired spectacularly, luckily without putting anyone in danger, but still the ex-demon figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

"That'll be twenty-two dollars and fifty-five cents", she then told the teenager, earning a disbelieving huff, followed by an "I have to pay?!", the outcry making her nod, clearly unimpressed by Dawn's annoyance.

"Of course", she then said, "you're a customer like anyone else, and this is not for any Buffy-related business, so you have to pay. I have to eat too, you know!"

"Fiiiiine", the teenager grumbled, digging out her wallet, "but just so you know, this takes a big chunk out of my allowance. I hope you feel bad!"

"No", Anya replied, unimpressed; Dawn gave her another annoyed look, then handed her the money, making a point of counting her change before it vanished into her wallet, an excited glint in her eyes as she picked up the bag with the goods she had purchased.

"I can't wait to try this", she told the ex-demon, her enthusiasm making the elder woman smile slightly, as well, "this'll be awesome."

"Tell me how it went", Anya gave back, making her nod happily; she gave her another bright smile, then wished her a nice day and left the story, almost hopping as she hurried home, the bag she was carrying in one hand swinging slightly in the rhythm of he steps.

_Buffy will be so proud if I pull this off, _she told herself as she speedup even further, momentarily forgetting Willow's warnings about how ingredients for spells were quite often quite delicate and should be handled with care, _and I can't wait to see Willow's face when I tell her, either._

Feeling impatient, she briefly considered running instead of just walking fast, then decided against it, reminding herself of the fact that she didn't have her sister's stamina and strength; and thus, she kept up her rather fast-paced walk instead of breaking into a run, feeling giddy by the time she arrived at her home.

To her slight dismay, Buffy wasn't around when she entered, only silence greeting her as she called out; she had been planning to wait until the Slayer would be there, but now that the actual performing of the spell was so close, Dawn realized that she couldn't, just feeling too eager to get started, after she had been banned from magic for a month, thanks to her latest mishap when she had tried to make fire from ice and had ended up burning her blanket.

Thus, she hurried upstairs to her room immediately, spreading the Sunnydale map she had bought at a kiosk beforehand on the ground, then readying the ingredients for the spell; remembering what Willow had told her about locator spells, namely that locating a certain demon was easier than doing them all at once, she focused hard on the demon she knew best, conjuring an image of Pat up in her inner eye as she started crumbling the ingredients into the bowl she had readied, mumbling the words for the spell under her breath as she did so.

As she spoke, she once more realized the disadvantage of not having said demon right next to her during the spell – when Willow did it, Pat always provided the fire needed to burn the ingredients and set them off, in just the right moment, the second the witch had said the last word, but since she had no demon with such abilities at hand, Dawn had to do it the old-fashioned way, reaching for the box of matches with one hand as she kept speaking and striking one of them, tossing it into the bowl the moment she had said the last word, just like the black haired woman always did for Willow.

And then, she held her breath, staring at the map as she waited for the glowing light to appear and to point out Pat's location; to her dismay though, no such thing happened, the herbs and powders burning away to nothingness in the bowl and filling the room with a vaguely unpleasant smelling smoke, something she didn't even notice though as disappointment took hold, a frown beginning to show on her face as she kept staring at the map, willing the small glowing dot to appear.

"Dammit", Dawn finally gave up, glaring at the map as if it was to blame for the failure, "another fail. Great. Gonna keep that one to myself…"

With a heavy sigh, she started gathering the supplies, grumbling to herself continuously – and blissfully unaware of what her spell had caused, not having the slightest idea that, halfway across town, Willow just had let out a shriek of terror and Pat had dropped the glass she just had been lifting to her mouth, both of them staring at the figure floating in front of them, said figure looking back at them in slight confusion, silence filling the room – until Willow breathed out just a few words, but they would have been enough to give Dawn a heart attack, had she heard them and been given the chance to realize what her spell had accomplished.

"Oh Goddess", the redhead almost was whispering, unable to take her eyes off the apparition, her heart hammering up to her chest, "Tara…"

* * *

"Careful", Pat was the first to snap out of her stupor, the broken glass on the floor forgotten as she kept staring at the ghostly figure still floating inches above their carpet, even though it seemed to grow more solid as the seconds ticked by, soon not being transparent anymore, "we don't know if that's really… her, or if it's something else pretending to be her…"

"I don't mean any harm", the ghost reassured her in response, giving her a warm smile, even though it faded again when the demon just kept staring at her suspiciously, looking as if she was ready to jump her any second, "I promise. I'm not sure how I ended up here, but…"

She fell silent as her gaze wandered from the taller woman to Willow and she got a good look at the redhead's face, concern showing on her features seconds later – the witch looked as if she was close to either bursting into tears or fainting on the spot, clutching the couch she was sitting on with both hands, as if she was trying to keep herself grounded with the tight grip.

"Willow", Tara thus said, moving down until she ended up standing on the carpet, then hurrying to her side, Pat doing the same in exactly the same moment, "it's alright, really, I mean no harm… Oh gosh, I'm sorry, this must be dreadful for you…"

"Stay away from her", Pat snapped at her before the witch had the chance to say something, having reached her first and taking her into a protective embrace, now glaring openly at the blonde woman, "you can tell us a million times that you mean no harm, but as of now, I find that hard to believe."

"I reassure you that I mean no harm", Tara gave back, stopping her approach though – after all, she looked and also felt quite solid by now, and didn't want to find out the hard way if the demon might be capable of punching her.

"It's her", Willow now spoke up for the first time since the blonde had appeared in their living room out of nowhere, "I can tell, it's her…"

"If it's something evil, that's just what it might want you to believe", Pat argued in response, glancing back and forth from her girlfriend and the ghost standing close to the couch, "she'll have to prove it first…"

"One of the first spells we tried was floating a rose, and then removing the petals with magic", Tara told Willow in response, holding her gaze as she recounted an event only the two witches and Buffy knew about, "and the floating part went fine, but when we tried to remove the petals, the spell went kablooey and the rose zinged all over the room. We both had to duck or it would have hit one of us in the face."

"That happened", Willow confirmed before the demon had the chance to ask, forgetting that she had recollected that incident to her quite some time ago, when she had been telling her about her first forays into magic with the blonde, "in her dorm room… The petals were off then… It's her…"

She took in a deep breath as she tried to keep her composure, not wanting to burst into tears; from how tense Pat was next to her, she could tell that this was upsetting the taller woman as well, not nearly as much as her, but she didn't want to make it even worse by starting to cry in her arms.

"I'm really sorry for just… popping in like that", Tara now spoke up again, giving the redhead another worried look, aware of how much this had upset her, "and, as strange as this may sound, I have no idea how it happened… one second I was in the afterlife, and in the next, I was here, in your room."

"Are you… back?" Willow wanted to know, feeling how Pat tensed up even further next to her, but unable to hold herself back, "back to life…?"

"No", Tara answered at once, "I can feel that, I'm not… fully alive and back. And I doubt this will be permanent, as strange as this may sound, it feels as if it was quite… unintentional."

"Um", Pat let out, gaining the attention of both witches, "well… Now that we established it's really you, I suppose the two of you will have quite a bit to talk about so… I'll go for a walk, just give me a call when you need me, okay?"

"Okay", Willow gave back, still unable to take her eyes off the blonde; and thus, she missed the brief flash of pain on her lover's face, the doubts and the insecurity, emotions which were hidden well again by the time the demon got up from her seat and, after giving the redhead another look, turned and left, gently closing the door behind herself, only letting her feelings about this situation show the moment she was alone in the hallway.


	7. 7 Remembrance Day, Part II

"You surely have a nice place here", Tara was the one to break the silence which had formed after Pat's departure, moving to sit next to Willow, with a bit of distance between them though, "and quite the impressive collection of magic books by now. I wish I had time to browse a bit."

"I'm so sorry", Willow brought out in response, making it clear that the blonde's attempt to lighten the mood a bit hadn't helped at all, the redhead now losing the fight against her tears, a stifled sob escaping her, "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you…"

"Don't be", Tara gave back at once, now closing the distance between them to pull her into a comforting hug, rubbing her back soothingly as she cried in her arms, "there was nothing you could have done. My time had come, if it hadn't been the bullet, it would have been something else."

"I did some horrible things after you died", Willow almost whispered as an answer, finding it hard to look at her all at once, concentrating on the carpet between her feet as she went on, "even worse than what I did before Warren killed you…"

"I know", Tara gave back, surprising her enough to make her look up at her again, her eyes wide, "I saw it all. I'm not sure if I'm in Heaven or if it's something else, but whatever it's called, we can keep tabs on our loved ones there. I was quite worried for you, for quite some time even after you returned from England, but then you met Pat, and your light came back…"

"You're not… I don't know, mad, then?" the redhead dared to ask in reply, giving her another insecure look, "or… disappointed?"

"No", Tara gave back at once, shaking her head as if to underline her own words, "never. I was scared for you, when the darkness was so big within you, and kept hanging over your head after your return, but I was never mad or disappointed. I don't want you to live your life grieving for me."

"She's helped me so much", Willow mumbled, her fingers finding the hem of her shirt and nervously playing with it, "you'll always be in my heart, I hope you know that, but she means so much to me, as well… I love her…"

"I know", Tara gave back, with a warm smile now curling her lips, "just as she loves you… I haven't been watching the two of you all the time, I know there still is such a thing as privacy, even if I'm dead, but whenever I looked in on the two of you, I could see how happy you are making each other…"

"At first, I felt as if I'm betraying you", Willow admitted in response, "as if… I don't know, as if I'm giving up the only part that's left of you, by loving her… But you still have a place in my heart, you always will have…"

"Devote your heart to the living, though", Tara gave back, making the witch smile slightly, "you'll need each other for what's ahead… I can't tell you much more than that, but there will be many more challenges you'll have to face, and sacrifices will have to be made."

"Nothing surprising there", Willow mumbled, wiping off the last few tears on her face and clearing her throat, now holding the blonde's gaze as she spoke up again, her words making Tara smile slightly again, another one of the warm and loving smiles she had loved to see so much back then when she still had been alive. "Thank you for telling me all this, though… For giving us your blessing… it means a lot to me. There are still days when I miss you, I think there always will be, but it's good to know you're in a good place now and that you're fine with… all of this."

"Of course I am", Tara reassured her at once, hugging her yet again and making her smile slightly once more, "and of course you have my blessings. Keep making each other happy, alright? And keep in mind, no matter what, if you're always there for each other, things can never get so bad that you can't handle them…"

"Thanks", Willow replied, a slight tremble in her voice now; and then, she clung to her and breathed in deeply, taking in her scent, knowing it would be the last time she'd have the chance to hold her; Tara returned the embrace for a few more moments, then pulled back, giving her another smile before she spoke up again, making the redhead nod in response.

"I wish I could stay longer", she told her, "and catch up a bit more, but I still feel that my time is limited, and there's one more talk I still should have, before I go back. Take care, alright?"

For a moment, Willow almost said "You too", then realized that this probably wasn't necessary, with Tara in Heaven or a similar place; and thus, she just nodded, earning another smile from the blonde – before she faded away, leaving a smiling and content Willow behind.

* * *

Even though Pat hadn't been fully sure that Tara would come to her, she wasn't really surprised when the blonde materialized out of nowhere right beside her, on the bench she had chosen for her brooding; for a while, they sat side by side in silence, and just when Tara wanted to speak up, the demon beat her to it, sounding strangely flat and defeated, to the blonde's immediate concern.

"I always knew part of her will always love you", the taller woman told her, still not looking at her, but staring off into the distance, "and I accepted that. Of course I did, it's not like I had much of a choice… But sometimes, I ask myself if she'll ever love me as much as she loved you. And judging from how she looked at you today—"

"She does", Tara interrupted her, finally succeeding in making the demon look at her, "you were right, part of her heart will always be for me, but her love for you is as strong and true as her love for me was."

Clearly, Pat had trouble with believing her, giving her a doubtful look in response, but not saying anything to contradict her; smiling at her, Tara reached out and placed a tender hand on her arm, glad when the black haired woman didn't pull back from her touch.

"I mean it", she reassured her, squeezing her arm slightly, "you mean so much to her… And I don't think you know how much you helped her. You pulled her out the darkness and kindled her light again, she'd be in such a bad place without you."

"She would have made it on her own", Pat argued back, clearly not willing to let go of her doubt and her feelings of inadequacy so easily, "with the help of her friends. She's strong enough, I just made it happen faster."

"You know, when I was watching you with her, you were much more confident", Tara remarked in response, earning a raised eyebrow from the demon, "but of course I understand you, and your fears and feelings."

"If it hadn't been for that guy Warren, I never would have stood a chance", Pat blurted out in response, sounding much rougher than usual as she struggled to control her emotions, "your… appearance today made that more than clear. You'd still be with her, and she'd be happy…"

"No one knows", Tara replied, ignoring the snort the demon let out in response, "we might still be together, yes. But it was my time to go, and now you're making her happy. I know you are, once you're dead, you get pretty good at reading auras and emotions. She loves you, and she wants to make you happy as much as you want the same for her."

"It's all I want", Pat told her something she already knew, in a voice even hoarser than usual, "from the moment on I kissed her for the first time…"

"I know", the blonde gave back, squeezing her arm tenderly once more, "and it's important that you never forget that, no matter what. I already told Willow the same, and I can't tell you more than I told her – there'll be many more challenges you'll have to deal with, and sacrifices will have to be made."

"No surprise there", the demon gave back, almost word for word repeating Willow's response, only with a bit more snark in it, making Tara smile slightly again, her expression growing serious once more though moments later, the same emotion in her voice as she replied, making sure to hold the taller woman's gaze now.

"None at all, and I need you to promise me something so you'll be able to deal with them", she told the black haired woman, earning a curious look in reply, which prompted her to go on, "promise me two things, in fact. One, never doubt her love for you, and that her feelings for you are true. And second, promise me you'll always look out for her and protect her."

For a moment, Pat felt like snapping at her, of asking her how it was possible that, if she kept looking in on them, she didn't know that this was just what the demon was doing; then, she fought the impulse down, managing to sound surprisingly calm and collected when she replied. "I'll die for her if I have to. You know that."

"Promise me", Tara gave back in response, "no matter what. Please? I don't have much time left, and I need to hear this…"

"I promise", the demon did her the favour, figuring that it couldn't hurt; immediately, Tara smiled happily again, her smile only widening at what the taller woman had to add. "I promise I'll always protect her, and look out for her, and make sure she'll be okay, no matter what we have to face. Alright?"

"Perfect", the blonde reassured her, then got up from her seat, "and I got the feeling that, whatever called me here, will be over soon, so I better get going. Take care, and hurry back to your girl, she's waiting for you."

"Will do", Pat replied at once, earning another smile from Tara; and then, she started fading, the demon still taking a moment to smile back at her before she turned and hurried back home, eager to return to her lover's arms, somehow just knowing that Tara hadn't been just saying it when she had told her that Willow was waiting for her.

* * *

The moment she stepped through the door, Willow was there and hugging her, almost clinging to her; and immediately, she returned the embrace, holding her close to herself and rubbing her back soothingly, knowing that this was just what the witch needed now.

"We're okay", she told her before Willow even had the chance to say something, making her look up at her; for a few seconds, the redhead just kept holding her gaze in silence, then let out a heavy, relieved breath, all the tension going out of her within moments, allowing the taller woman to feel how she relaxed in her arms.

"Did you talk?" the witch wanted to know after a few more moments of gathering her thoughts; nodding, Pat gave her a wry smile as she led her back to the living room and they both sat down there, the taller woman briefly retelling her conversation with the blonde to her afterwards, also mentioning the promise Tara had asked from her and the warning she had given her.

"She warned me about that, too", Willow told her after she had finished, "but she didn't make me promise anything. I wonder why?"

"No idea", the taller woman gave back, frowning slightly, "but I suppose she had her reasons…"

Noticing the strict way Willow was looking at her now, she trailed off, then fell silent, looking back at her in alarm, not sure what to expect now; and then, to her relief, the witch's expression softened again as she took her hand, giving it a tender squeeze, her voice as gentle as her touch when she spoke up. "Don't even doubt my feelings for you, alright? I know it's hard, after how I reacted to Tara today, but I love you, and you mean so much to me…"

"I love you, too", the demon reassured her at once, "and yes, there was a moment of doubt… Okay, a bit more than that… But I should have understood your reaction, after all that happened between the two of you…"

In response, Willow gave her another smile, then snuggled up to her, their lips meeting in a tender kiss moments later; and afterwards, they just sat in content silence for a while, enjoying being so close to each other, until the demon started to frown again, another thought just having hit her.

"So", she said out loud, making the redhead look up at her again questioningly, "I wonder why she came here in the first place. To warn us? She didn't really tell us anything new, did she?"

"I know why", Willow replied with a roll of her eyes, "Buffy called while you were gone and after Tara had left to find you. Dawn tried magic again and apparently it backfired and brought her here."

"Oh", Pat gave back, not all too smart; after pondering this for another moment, she shook her head, her dry tone when she continued making the redhead giggle as she nodded her agreement immediately, agreeing with her lover whole-heartedly. "And she didn't even get affected by it. That's so not fair, and she's so banned from magic again for the next month. Or two."

"Yes", Willow agreed with another giggle, "but now, enough about Dawn and her forays into magic. Stop talking and kiss me."

"Your wish is my command", Pat smirked, then prevented another attack of the giggles by fulfilling her wish, any doubts which might have been left in the darkest corners of her mind blown away to nothingness as their lips met yet again, and she realized once more that this was where she belonged.

End.


	8. 8 Girls, Interrupted

Author's Note: Another request, one which was a lot of fun to write :) It's a bit more humorous than my usual work, and also quite a bit more smutty, so minors beware ;)

Summary: There's another demon with apocalypse in mind to stop, so Buffy assembles the Scoobies to help. Unfortunately though, not all of them are as ready to get going as she thinks...

* * *

Gilrls, Interrupted

Already when the knocking sounded through the house, Buffy had the feeling that something was wrong; and the moment she opened the door and got her first look at Giles' face, that feeling only increased, showing through her voice when she greeted him and asked him to come in.

"So what is it this time", she wanted to know, leading him to the kitchen where he sat down while she remained standing, "another apocalypse?"

"Almost", Giles sighed in response, "the coven called me, alerting me to a demon who will awake and might cause the end of the world, if we leave him to roam free. Unfortunately, the source from which they got this information isn't complete, so they couldn't tell me for sure if it will awake tonight or if it already did."

"Great", Buffy sighed, "one would think they'd give up trying after a while, seeing we always stop them, anyway. Do we know where this demon is sleeping?"

"Yes", the Brit gave back, to her relief, "and I already called Xander and Anya to join us here, with supplies from the Magic Box. I also tried to reach Willow and Pat, but I wasn't successful."

Before Buffy could reply to that, the doorbell rang, and she hurried to open it, not surprised to find Xander and Anya outside, both of them already informed about what was going on by the Watcher and looking appropriately spooked.

"I'll give Willow and Pat another call", Buffy told them as soon as they all had assembled in the kitchen again, "we better take them along, just in case this demon is an early riser or we need magic to stop him from waking."

"My only free day and of course it's devoted to demon hunting", Xander griped, shaking his head while Anya nodded in agreement, "I wonder what other people do on their free days. I bet they play golf."

"You're too young to play golf", Buffy gave back, slightly distracted as she was scrolling through the contact list of her phone, once more reminded of the fact that she finally should put her closest friends on fast dial; since the list was ordered alphabetically, she reached Pat's number first and pushed the button to call her, frowning when after ringing a few times, the call went to voicemail.

Not bothering to leave a message, she ended the call, then found Willow's number and gave that a try, the vague feeling that something was wrong increasing when the redhead didn't take her call, either, worry all over her face when she ended the call after it had gone to voicemail as well and looked at her friends.

"No one's answering", she told them, making Xander and Giles exchange worried looks, "we better go there and see if they're alright, there might be trouble…"

"Or maybe they're having orgasms together", Anya suggested, shrugging at the looks of disbelief she received. "What?" she then went on, "that's what Xander and I wanted to do before Giles called."

"What's going on?" Dawn's voice interrupted them before anyone had the chance to reply something, prompting Buffy to give her sister a brief explanation, followed by a short, but heated discussion if she'd come along or not, the teenager winning this one, since the Slayer couldn't tell for sure if there really was trouble or if maybe, the two simply hadn't heard their phones.

"Let's go then", Buffy sighed after giving in to her sister, ignoring her triumphant smile, "but, Dawn, if there really is trouble, I don't want you anywhere near it, alright?"

"Sure", Dawn agreed at once, knowing that she'd be forced to stay at home if she tried to argue about this; Buffy gave her another strict look, then headed for the front door without another word, the rest of the group right behind her, piling into Giles' and Xander's car and heading for the apartment of the witch and the demon just a few minutes later.

* * *

The knocking on the door and ringing of the bell brought as little success as calling had, to the increasing worry of all of them; after the third ring, Buffy gave up and used the spare key Willow had given her a while ago, telling the rest in a hushed voice that they should be quiet, wanting to get the jump on anything which might have entered the home of the couple and was threatening them now.

_Or perhaps already did something worse than just threaten, _she thought to herself as she snuck into the small anteroom, all her senses up on high alert, _why is it so quiet in here? If they'd gone out, they would have taken their phones…_

A low moan coming from the kitchen distracted her from her thoughts, her blood running cold; it had sounded like Willow, and if the only reaction the witch could give to their knocking and ringing was such a sound, she had to be hurt really badly.

Dropping all caution and tries to be quiet, Buffy hurried down the hallway, through the living room and to the closed kitchen door, trying to prepare herself for what she might have to see any moment now; she had a few seconds to imagine her best friend dreadfully hurt, lying bleeding on the kitchen floor, then she pushed the door open and froze in her steps, her eyes going wide while behind her, Xander let out a startled noise, not even noticing how Giles bumped into him, his noise mixing with the "Oh my God" coming from the Slayer.

Clearly though, he wasn't the only one who didn't notice what was going on around him; after all, Willow and Pat reacted just as little to the sudden intrusion, not even when Dawn let out a squeak as she saw what was going on, only having the chance to so for a few second though before Buffy covered her eyes.

In the kitchen, the witch and the demon still hadn't realized that they weren't alone anymore, and even though Buffy never would have expected to walk in on them on such a moment, she couldn't blame them, not sure if she would have noticed, had she been in the same position.

Willow was lying on the kitchen table flat of her back, one hand gripping said table's edge, the other entangled in Pat's hair; her pants laid on the floor at the demon's feet, and since her eyes were squeezed shut, sweat glistening on her brow, it was no surprise that she hadn't noticed the audience yet.

Another moan came from her as Pat was successful with what she was doing; thanks to the fact that the taller woman's head was between Willow's legs and said legs were slung over her shoulders, Buffy couldn't see exactly what she was doing, but didn't need much imagination to figure it out.

"I told you so!" Anya blurted out, finally having managed to peek past Xander, who by now was covering his eyes, his face bright red, "they are having orgasms together!"

Her voice finally tore Willow out of the near trance-like state her passion had induced; her eyes snapped open, meeting Buffy's for a second – and then she let out a shriek, startling Pat into stopping and pulling back, a surprised noise coming from her as well when she saw the small group standing at the kitchen door.

"Jesus!" Willow brought out, sitting up and trying to pull down her shirt to cover herself, Pat reacting much more calm and reasonable by quickly bending down and picking up her pants, then throwing them over her lower half, covering everything up, the witch giving her a brief grateful look before her gaze focused on their friends again.

"What are you guys doing here?!" she demanded to know, not sure if she should be outraged about the interruption or freak out about what they all had witnessed, "can't you knock?!"

"We did!" Buffy defended herself while Xander finally dared to look again, relieved to see that apparently, the action was over; Giles was cleaning his glasses again, as he always did when something uncomfortable was going on, Dawn was giggling into her palm now that Buffy had stopped covering her eyes, and Anya was grinning from ear to ear, clearly minding least what they had walked in on.

"You guys didn't hear!" Buffy went on, giving the couple a strict look, "and you didn't react when we called you! We thought you're in trouble!"

"We were a little busy", Pat gave back, unperturbed, shrugging at the look the blonde shot her, "and this better be important, cause you interrupted at a very bad time."

"Of course it is", the Slayer replied, indignant, "we wouldn't all have come here if it wasn't! So please get ready and the let's go, we have an apocalypse to stop."

"Fine", the demon sighed, exchanging an unhappy look with Willow, knowing well how close the witch had been to reaching the top of her bliss, "just give us five minutes. We'll be right there."

"Alright", Buffy mumbled, "and just so you know, my brain will never work again correctly after walking in on this. The kitchen table? Really?"

"It's called being spontaneous", Pat told her dryly while Willow blushed brightly, fiddling with the hem of her shirt nervously; the taller woman took one look at her, then made shooing motions at the small group, prompting them all to traipse out of the kitchen, Anya having time for one more comment though, making both Willow and Pat roll their eyes at her usual bluntness.

"That looked like a lot of fun, Xander. How come you aren't doing that for me anymore?"


	9. 9 Fire in the Hole

Author's Note: I watched "Doomed" the other day and Percy's behaviour towards Willow really ticked me off. So, with a little help from my friend Emerald Demona, I decided to write this to give him a bit of a comeuppance. :) Set between Hearts on Fire and Sanity Fair.

"This is fascinating", Willow mumbled, watching the flames flicker and dance, "and you can throw it, too? How far?"

"As far as it has to go", Pat shrugged, putting the fire on her hands out with a quick thought, the redhead immediately taking the chance given by that to touch her hands, amazed to find that the skin wasn't even warm.

"Well", the demon now corrected herself, making Willow look up at her face again, "of course it doesn't fly an infinite distance or something. But it does go quite far."

"Fascinating", Willow repeated, then giggled, earning a curious look in reply, and giving an explanation for her mirth before the taller woman had to ask. "If someone told me I'd be dating a fire demon soon, I would have called them crazy", she explained, making the demon snort slightly, "and yet, here we are."

"Here we are", the taller woman agreed with a chuckle, "and you know the same goes for me, only replace the fire demon with the cutest witch I've ever seen."

"Awww", Willow cooed in reply, blushing slightly as she smiled at her partner; even though they had been together again for a month now, she still found it hard to believe at times, considering the black haired woman had come to Sunnydale to kill Buffy and initially only had hooked up with her to get closer to the Slayer, a plan which had been working out perfectly fine until she had started to have real feelings for the redhead.

Smiling back at her, Pat leaned in for a brief kiss, marvelling at how good it made her feel to press her lips to Willow's, even if the kiss just lasted for a few seconds; when she pulled back again, she felt the by now well known lust well up within her, but forced it down, telling herself that they had plans and that there would be enough time for that kind of activity later on.

"So", she thus said out loud, "party soon, right? Who else is gonna be there?"

"Everyone", Willow gave back, making her raise an eyebrow again, "those frat boys really tend to go overboard when inviting people. But if you want to know who of the people we know will be there, it'll be Buffy, Xander and Anya, Buffy asked Xander if he wanted to come and he said yes, we don't want him to feel left out… And knowing our luck, Spike might be there, too."

"I don't mind Spike", Pat shrugged, not really surprising the witch – with both of them being demons, the witch figured it'd only be natural for them to get along, even though neither of them was evil anymore, the fire demon by choice while the vampire had been more or less forced into his new role of the good guy.

"If he gets bored enough, he might be there", she now said out loud, "but he won't be able to make any trouble, which is good."

"Yup", Pat agreed, then checked her watch before she asked when they would have to leave, prompting the witch to tell her they still had a bit more than an hour, a smile curling her lips when immediately, a lusty glint entered her partner's eyes as she realized that perhaps, there still was some time for a certain activity after all.

"Wow, you were right when you said they go overboard when inviting people", Pat commented as she glanced around the frat house, making Willow nod next to her; the room was practically packed with people, a few of them already quite tipsy, making them both wonder how generous the frat boys had been with the alcohol in the punch bowl.

"And their idea for décor is questionable", the witch added, gesturing at the inflatable wading pool which had been put up in the middle of the room and filled to the brim with red jello, "are they actually expecting people to eat this?"

"I bet some will once they are drunk enough", Pat smirked, then used her height to her advantage and peered around, trying to find out if Buffy and the others were already there; when she couldn't spot the blonde anywhere, she shrugged it off, figuring that she would find them once she'd come here.

"Seems like the rest's not here yet", she told Willow as she focused on her again, "I'll go get us some drinks so we won't die of thirst while we wait for them."

"Okay, but hurry back", the redhead gave back, smiling up at her as she grasped her hand, "I don't want to be without for too long."

"Will do", Pat reassured her, then bent down for a brief kiss before she hurried off to find the drinks; Willow looked after her for a few moments, then glanced around again, smiling at a few people she knew – before someone bumped into her and nearly made her stumble, her eyebrows going up in surprise when she turned around and found herself looking at Percy, the jock muttering an excuse which didn't sound all too sincere before he recognized her, sounding slightly surprised as he greeted her.

"You here alone?" he then asked her, causing her to ask herself if he remembered the last time they had met at a party, during her first year at college, and the comments he had made about her back then when he had thought she wasn't within earshot; shaking her head, she smiled at him, suddenly absurdly curious about how he would react as she replied.

"No", she let him know, "I'm here with my girlfriend, she's just getting us drinks."

"Oh okay", Percy gave back, then his brain seemed to process what Willow just had said, since his eyes widened, forcing her to hold back a giggle at the look of surprise which had appeared on his face, the same emotion in his voice when he went on. "Wait, did you say girlfriend?"

"Yes", she confirmed, still feeling like giggling at the way he was staring at her, "as I said, she's just getting drinks, she should be here any moment."

"Is she hot?" Percy wanted to know, making it her turn to be surprised; before she could come up with a response though, the subject of their talk came back, with two drinks in hand, handing one of them to the redhead while she gave her a questioning look, making it quite obvious that she hadn't heard his question, since her reaction would have been very different then, the witch already having learned that the demon tended to be quite protective of her.

"This is Percy", Willow explained as she accepted the drink, "I used to tutor him in high school. Percy, this is Pat, my girlfriend."

"Hm", Percy let out in reply, giving the taller woman a critical look and making her raise an eyebrow, "good choice, Willow. So, just in case my date doesn't make it, you guys up for a threesome?"

"What?" Willow gave back, startled, not having expected this from him at all; next to her, Pat just kept staring at him, her gaze darkening slightly as he smirked at them, then shrugged, leaning a bit closer to the couple as he replied.

"Just an offer", he told them, "in case you miss it to drive stick. So, you up to it or not?"

"I suggest you turn around and walk off, and maybe find your girl", Pat replied, her tone of voice prompting Willow to give her a warning look, the redhead not wanting her partner to get in trouble with the jock, "and we'll just forget this outlandish suggestion you made."

"Touchy, are we", Percy gave back with a laugh, clearly not noticing the way she had tensed up, "it was just an idea. No need to get all upset. Is she always like that?"

With the last words, he glanced at Willow, still having no idea on how thin ice he was; finding it hard to believe his gall, the redhead shrugged, silently hoping that he'd just listen to the demon and walk off, without saying anything else that might enrage her enough to smack him.

"Well", Percy said instead of walking away, leaning even closer to the redhead, "the offer still stands, you know, you really got hotter since high school, I'd totally tap you now."

With that, he reached out and smacked her butt, not hard enough to hurt, but still making her jump; she had a second to stare at him in shock, then heard Pat growl next to her, lowly in the back of her throat, a noise she always made when she was getting pissed.

And then, from one second to the next, Percy's pants had caught fire, a startled yelp coming from him as he jumped back, beating at the flames; Willow let out a cry as well, her voice mixing with those of the other people around, the only one who didn't react with shock being Pat, a hint of her amusement in her voice when she spoke up.

"Looks like you should jump into the pool", she suggested, making the redhead look at her with wide eyes as she finally realized what had happened, hoping that no one else had, knowing she'd have a hard time explaining how exactly her partner had been capable of setting the young man on fire.

With another yelp as by now, the flames started to do damage, Percy ran past them and to the jello pool, not hesitating for a second, but jumping straight into it; there was a surprisingly loud squishy sound, jello flying everywhere and spattering the people close to the pool, but at least, it had put out the flames before he'd been seriously injured.

"Percy?!" a female voice cried out as he struggled out of the pool again, trying to wipe the jello off his pants and shirt, "what the Hell are you… ugh! This is disgusting! I'm late for ten minutes and this is what you do?!"

"No, Jenna, wait!" Percy cried out as the girl turned and ran off, hurrying after her; snickering to herself, Pat watched him go, then noticed the strict look Willow was giving her and her snicker slowly died, replaced by a look of worry.

"What?" she then dared to ask; in response, the witch let out a small sigh, then smiled slightly, keeping her voice low so no one else would hear when she replied.

"First, thanks for dealing with him, he really needed to be taken down a notch", she told the demon, "but, and this is important, please don't set people on fire anymore, even if they are annoying? You could have seriously hurt him, and if someone had noticed…"

"Aw", Pat let out in response, "but it was funny. But fine, if you don't want me to do that, I won't do it again… at least not for just being annoying. Can I punch them?"

"Yes", Willow gave back with a small laugh, "if they are that annoying and grope me, you can punch them. But not with full strength!"

"I'll try to keep that in mind", the demon reassured her, making her smile again; she pulled her down for another kiss, then suggested that they should go and see if Buffy had made it to the party by now, grasping her hand as they started to move through the crowd, the unpleasant situation with Percy and his behaviour already forgotten.


	10. 10 Deliverance

Author's Note / Summary: A brief look into a certain demon's mind as she realizes her feelings for a certain redhead. Rated M for one F-Bomb. Set during Hearts on Fire, after Willow finds out about Pat's true nature.

* * *

_That´s how I begin  
road to my deliverance.  
Paved with my desire  
Breathing air like fire_

_I find myself in love  
The fall of you defining me_

_Tarja – Deliverance_

The door slammed, and Willow was gone, her last words still lingering in the demon's ears and making her heart clench up, her eyes stinging suspiciously – before she clenched her teeth and told herself that she wouldn't cry, not over this, she hadn't cried for two centuries and she surely wouldn't start with it now, not over some human she just had gotten close to so she could get to…

The rage took hold of her, anger at herself for being so foolish, for letting the witch find the amulet and figure out what it meant, and before she even realized she was moving, she had made her way to the table with two long strides, grasped the ashtray and threw it, a loud growl accompanying the noise of glass shattering, her eyes flashing up red.

For a few more moments, she stood there, breathing heavily, her fists clenched at her sides and trembling slightly; and then, she slumped down onto the couch and buried her face in her hands, finally acknowledging the pain, asking herself yet again how she could have been so stupid – and why it hurt so much to know that, the next time she might see Willow, it'd be during battle, while she'd be out to kill her best friend and hurt her even worse than she already had.

* * *

Knowing that Willow hadn't just made an empty promise when she had told her Buffy would kick her ass, should she run into her again, Pat packed up her stuff an hour after the redhead had left; when it came to leaving Sunnydale though, she didn't take the witch's advice, not leaving as she had been told she should, but moving to a motel not far from campus, telling herself that she did it so she could finish the job and not because of some other stupid reasons, like any emotions she might have developed.

_Don't be stupid, _she thought to herself as she laid on the rather uncomfortable bed, the TV filling the room with mindless noise, the window open so the smoke from her cigarette would drift outside, the black haired woman easily ignoring the non-smoking signs on the walls, _you've done your jobs this way a thousand times. And you've blown your cover before, too, so you can do this, this is no different to your previous jobs._

Unbidden, an image of Willow formed in her mind's eye, of the look on the redhead's face when she had confirmed her nature and the true reason for her stay in Sunnydale; and even though she didn't want to, she couldn't help but ponder how the witch might look once her best friend was dead, the expression of pain and heartbreak which surely would show on her face then.

_Fuck, get a hold of yourself, _she mentally grumbled at herself, sitting up and glaring at the TV, as if it was to blame for her current dilemma, _since when do you care so much about your means to an end? And that's all she was, no matter how beautiful you think she is and how much you want to make it all up to her just so she'll smile at you again and how good it felt to hold her and…_

Realizing to which track her train of thought had moved, she let out another growl, getting up from the bed with enough force to make it rattle slightly; unable to stand still, Pat started pacing up and down, clenching and unclenching her fists as she asked herself what was wrong with her, not even noticing the smoke which was rising from her hands and towards the ceiling.

"This is idiotic", she said out loud, not caring if anyone heard her through the open window, a distinctive grumble in her voice, "since when do you care about this? You don't! This is your job! She doesn't matter!"

Already when she said it out loud, she knew that it wasn't true, and the way her heart clenched up only confirmed that knowledge; again, she found herself thinking of the look on Willow's face when she had admitted the truth, the anger which had turned into so much pain at her betrayal, and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't forget it, the scene replaying again and again until she couldn't help, but had to ask herself if she was losing her mind.

* * *

"Yeah, I blew my cover", Pat told her boss two days later, days she had spent mostly in the hotel room, brooding and trying to cope with what has happening to her, with no success though, finding herself unable to think of anyone else than Willow and of how much she missed her, "so I'm off the job. I could have pulled it off with a regular human anyway, but not with the Slayer."

"You know this will have consequences", a cold voice replied, slit yellow eyes glaring at her, "when I hired you, I was told you are the best and that you can do this. And now you tell me you're off the job?"

"You'll find out how good I am if you try to threaten me", the demon snarled in reply, her own eyes losing their blue colour and flashing up brightly red, "and if you want the Slayer dead so badly, just go after her yourself. I told you, I'm off the job."

Even though she knew that it was dangerous, she turned her back on him after the last few words and started to march off, feeling the tingle between her shoulder blades where his gaze and the glares of his two guards were focused, knowing that this would be where an arrow or a thrown knife might hit, but not looking back, aware of the fact that this would only make her look weak and maybe provoke them into attacking her after all.

"It's about the girl, isn't it", his voice finally came up again, surprising her so much that she stopped dead in her tracks, still refusing to turn around though, "that redhead. You got _feelings _for her. You did quite cosy with her that one night."

"She has nothing to do with it", the taller woman lied through grit teeth, feeling like tackling him and breaking his thick neck, "so leave her out of this."

"She doesn't, eh", the demon mob boss gave back, and she could hear the smirk on his face, still refusing to look at him, "then you surely won't mind if I send someone after her? If you feel nothing for her?"

In response, she finally did turn, and even though he had faced many enraged beings during his time, from humans to vampires to stronger demons, he nearly flinched back when her gaze met his, burning a bright red with pure rage, the fact that her voice was calm and controlled when she replied only making it seem worse. "You do that, and it's the last thing you've ever done."

And then, without another word and without giving him the chance to reply something, she turned and strode off; his bodyguards looked at him, waiting for his signal, but he merely shook his head and watched her go, asking himself how seriously he had to take her and how much damage she could do to him and his gang, not knowing that, not too long from this day on, her newfound friends and she would wipe them out completely.

* * *

When she had left the motel for a walk, Pat hadn't even been sure what had made her do so, since normally, she wasn't one for going on walks, preferring to drive wherever she had to go; since the urge to move through town was so strong within her though, she gave in to it, centuries of being a demon having taught her to listen to her instincts.

Without having a real idea where she was going, she just let her feet carry her wherever they would take her; and part of her wasn't even surprised when she found herself close to the Bronze, the place where she had shared her first kiss with Willow, the place where she had made the first daring move towards her by hugging her rather close from behind during a game of pool.

Holding back a sigh, she stopped walking, wistfully looking down the street while she patted her pockets for her cigarettes; and just as she had found them, an all too familiar voice cried out, sending her heart rate through the roof as she recognize it at once – and heard the hint of pain and fear in it, concern and anger warring within her for dominance as she tried to pinpoint the direction the words had come from.

"Let me go!" she heard Willow plead again moments later, making this easy for her; a few fast steps took her to the next alley, her eyes narrowing when she found the redhead being held by two guys, one of them having taken her arm while the other had grabbed a handful of her hair – before a smirk formed on her face as she realized that she could beat two birds with one stone in this situation.

In that very moment, she gave up on any thoughts of denial she still had had about her true feelings for the witch, feelings of concern and care and love she hadn't had for so long; the mere thought of these men touching her any moment longer, and the knowledge of what they were planning to do to her, something which was obvious through their lecherous expressions, made her so angry that she wanted to kill them both were they stood, her bloodlust only causing her smile to widen as she moved closer, her goal now clear in her mind, all doubts gone.

She had some guys overstepping their bounds to scare off, and then she had to prove her love to a woman she merely had used at first, and missed so much now that it almost hurt her physically – and even though she knew that the second part might be the biggest challenge of her life, she told herself that it all would work out fine, the smirk still on her face as she finally spoke up, startling all three of them and knowing, just _knowing_ deep inside that everything would be alright when she saw the brief look of relief and joy on Willow's face.


	11. 11 (Seeing You Again) For The First Time

Author's Note: This one's for my friend Emerald Demona, and since it thematically fits the previous one, I figured it'd make sense to post it now. :D Just like _Deliverance_, it is set during Hearts on Fire. It is much more smuttier than my usual stuff, actually the first time I post this kind of story here, so I hope it'll be okay. Enjoy!

Summary: Pat's the only one Willow had two first times with – one before she learned her new lover was a demon, and one after. This deals with both of them and what the witch feels in between.

* * *

(Seeing You Again) For the First Time

Her biggest regret, and the one she could never tell Buffy, was that she had slept with Pat that one night, after the nice dinner they had had and the taller woman had suggested that they go to her place instead of parting ways already.

Already when she had gone there with her, she had known where it would lead, and back then, she had been looking forward to it; she had fantasized to herself quite a bit about how it might be, and the black haired woman had fulfilled all those expectations and had done more than that, using her hands and lips and tongue to make her feel so many wonderful things that it was hard to name them all.

_Demon, _she reminded herself before her thoughts could go down that alley again, _remember, she's not a woman, she's a demon, and she came here to kill Buffy… she only got close to you to get to her…_

The mere thought nearly made her cry again, and she momentarily was glad that Buffy had gone out to patrol; she knew that the blonde meant well, but the last thing she needed in this very moment was to hear again that she'd be fine and that Pat was in for a good ass kicking the moment she'd show her face to the witch again.

_I hope she really left, _she pondered as she rolled over on the bed and ended up flat on her back, looking up at the ceiling, _I don't want her to get hurt…_

Part of her knew that she shouldn't feel this way, but still, she couldn't help it; again and again, she found herself thinking of how good Pat had made her feel, how nice it had been to be held by her and to kiss her, and how skilled her hands had been when they had made love, travelling over her body and taking the time to explore it, finding all the right spots and making good use of them.

Even though she didn't want to think of it anymore, her thoughts drifted to that certain night again, a sigh escaping her as she remembered, unable to stop the train of thought, no matter how hard she tried…

…no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't hide her arousal as she turned away from the bookshelf and looked up at her girlfriend, momentarily forgetting about the pendant she had found and tucked away in her pocket, too distracted by wondering if Pat could actually see how she was feeling while she told her that now, she had something much better to look at.

"You do?" the taller woman wanted to know, making the redhead smile in response – before she took her glass out of her hand and put it aside, then pulled her down for a rather deep kiss, a soft sigh coming from her as she felt the taller woman's hands slide beneath her t-shirt, and come to a tender rest on her back.

Pulling back from the kiss, she again gave her best to ignore the nagging voice in the back of her mind which reminded her of the pendant she had found and taken, making sure to keep any of those emotions off her face as she made a vague gesture at the bedroom door and asked Pat if they should move there; immediately, the black haired woman nodded her agreement, then grasped her hand and took the lead, and not even two minutes later, Willow found herself flat on her back on a comfortably soft bed, her shirt already gone, leaving her in her bra and pants.

Eager to put them in the same state of undress, she unbuttoned her partner's shirt, then removed it, carelessly tossing it to the floor, not caring if she crumpled it; to her delight, Pat took a few moments to just admire her, at the same time making her feel desirable and slightly awkward, only distract her from this moments later by kissing her deeply yet again, propping herself up with one hand while the other slid down her torso, leaving a path of electricity behind, and to her pants.

More than willing to make removing them easy for her, Willow raised her hips the moment the taller woman had undone the buttons, and she immediately took the chance given, pulling them down, then off and tossing them aside as well, making them join her shirt; and then, her hand slid up the inside of her leg, and the witch shuddered, all other thoughts forgotten now as she found herself unable to focus on anything else than the black haired woman's touch.

Letting out a soft moan which was just as shuddery as her body had been, she closed her eyes so she could concentrate even better on her lover's touch and kiss, her fingers involuntarily tightening around the blanket she laid on when she felt Pat's hand move back up and beneath her bra, the small touch already being enough to make her nipples react and harden.

Clearly, Pat took this as a sign that it was time to remove said bra, as well, and moments later, it joined the shirts and Willow's pants on the floor; and then, a mixture of gasp and groan came from the redhead as she felt the taller woman's lips close around one of her nipples while the thumb and index finger of one hand found the other one, rubbing and pinching, enough to nearly drive her crazy, but not enough to hurt.

Smirking at her more than positive reaction, Pat moved her hand from her breast to her back, unhooking her bra, then removing it; and then, she kissed her passionately again, her hand finding her breast again and caressing it tenderly, finding that one spot and sending waves of pleasure through the witch, her moans increasing slightly in volume, but muffled by the taller woman's mouth on hers.

Somehow, she managed to open the black haired woman's pants without breaking the kiss, and without making her stop the tender touch focused on her chest; pulling them down was impossible though, so Pat had to do this on her own, straightening up slightly so she could pull them down, then hurriedly removing her own bra before she took careful hold of the redhead's thong and pulled it down, leaving her fully naked moments later.

Again, she took a few moments to admire the view, and this time, Willow felt desirably only, no awkwardness left; she coyly smiled up at the taller woman, briefly making her smile back – before she moved to kiss her again, her hand moving to the inside of her thigh now and caressing her tenderly, sending electricity through her and making her arch her hips while she let out yet another moan, well aware of the warm wetness which already had formed between her legs.

"Pat", she almost breathed, finding it hard to talk properly, her lust apparently affecting her vocal cords, her breathing or both, "please… Don't make me wait any longer…"

She wrapped her arms around the taller woman as if to emphasize her point, and moments later, she let out another moan as her partner immediately fulfilled her desire, sliding her hand further up the inside of her leg until her fingers found that one certain spot which almost drove her crazy with surprising speed, eliciting more breathless moaning from her when her index- and middle finger started caressing her there tenderly, moving in slow circles, her arousal growing with each passing second.

"Oh God", she brought out as her climax neared with surprising speed, the small part of her brain which still was rational actually wondering how Pat had managed to get her so far so fast; her embrace around the taller woman tightened, then she squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth as the passion swept over her in a tidal wave and took her away, leaving nothing but bliss and satisfaction behind.

* * *

_Now you know why, _she bitterly thought to herself, rolling on her back yet again so she could stare up at the ceiling, _who knows how old she really is, being a demon and everything, maybe she has centuries of experience… no wonder she was so good._

The thought made her grimace, and all at once, she found herself unable to stay on the bed for a second longer; she got up so forcefully that she made the piece of furniture shake slightly, running both hands through her hair before she found her shoes and jacket, unaware of the fact that in not even an hour, Pat would come back to her life and that things would take a turn she never had suspected.

* * *

The first time they had had made love had been a slow and gentle affair, and by now, Willow knew for sure that her partner had been holding back then, mindful of not wanting to give away her true nature, but now that this had been revealed, all holding back obviously had gone out the window.

Already in the anteroom, Pat had her pinned against the door a second after it had been closed and locked, kissing her deeply, tugging at her shirt simultaneously; she had a moment to think of how Faith once had commented on how slaying made her hungry and horny, and clearly, fighting against a bunch of demons had had a similar effect on the black haired woman.

If she was completely honest to herself, she had to admit that she liked this fierce side of her lover, a side she so far only had seen when the demon was protecting her from harm; as the taller woman pulled back from the kiss and moved down to the sensitive skin of her throat, she tightened her embrace around her and let her eyes drift close, only to have them snap open again moments later when the demon let out a low, but distinctive growl against her neck.

Momentarily, she was startled, asking herself if Pat was angry for some strange reason since so far, she only had heard her growl when pissed off; then, the black haired woman let the noise out again as she moved back up to look at her, and from the glint in her eyes, it was obvious that she was anything but angry.

"Oh my God", Willow brought out, fighting to hold back a giggle, not wanting to give her the impression that she was laughing at her, "you growl when you get aroused? I'm sorry Sweetie, but I never would have expected that."

"Demon-thing", Pat just told her in reply, then made her squeal by picking her up on her arms, the way she casually showed her strength being just another area where she wasn't holding back anymore now; clinging to her, Willow still prayed that she wouldn't end up dropping her as she carried her through the anteroom, then the living room, straight to the bedroom, lowering her on the bed and kissing her again before she had the chance to make any further comment about her growling.

Within seconds, her shirt was off, making her wonder if the taller woman actually had torn it; then, her pants followed, and the way Pat hurriedly undressed as well afterwards only turned her on more, a startled gasp coming from her though when the sound of ripping fabric reached her ears and she realized, a bit belatedly, that instead of removing her thong, the demon simply had torn it off.

"Pat", she scolded, the only answer she received being another growl before she was silenced with yet another kiss; and while they were kissing, her bra met the same fate as her thong, but before she could feel regret about the ruined underwear, the black haired woman broke the kiss and lowered her head to slowly lick her throat, distracting her successfully, the fact that her hands were running over her body only helping with keeping her mind off the ruined lingerie.

Without even noticing that she was doing it, Willow arched her back when the taller woman's hand moved to her breast and cupped it, her thumb rubbing the already hardened nipple; when they had made love for the first time, it had been very good already, but this time, she felt even more arousal, convinced that she'd simply explode the second Pat would touch that one so special spot between her legs.

"You drive me crazy", she brought out, the tremble in her voice only underlining her words; and to her surprise, Pat smirked at her, the glint in her eyes increasing as she replied, the unsaid promise in her answer making the redhead's heart beat even faster than it already was. "Already? I didn't even start yet."

And then, after another moment of just giving her that smirk, the demon moved down, her tongue running over her most sensitive area; she nearly cried out loud at the sensation, at the way it made her feel, her eyes going wide as she clung at first to the bed sheets, then to her lover's back, not even realizing that she was scratching her back when her body trembled in reaction to what the taller woman was doing to her.

Encouraged by the redhead's reaction, Pat increased her efforts, reducing the witch to breathless groaning and gasping, sweat glistening all over her body; she could feel her climax build up shockingly quick, but the demon wouldn't slow down, only speeding up the movements of her tongue – until Willow let out a breathless cry as she climaxed, her nails digging into her back yet again, causing her the sweetest pain she had ever known.

Still, she didn't stop immediately, but slowed down first, letting her come down from her passion-induced high slowly; and only when her breathing had evened out a bit again, she pulled back, smirking at her yet again when their eyes met, the witch looking back at her with a tired, but happy grin, still breathing heavily.

"Goddess", she then brought out as the taller woman moved up to her again so she could take her into her arms, "that was… mind-blowing. Wow."

"Glad to hear", the taller woman chuckled, earning a slight giggle from the redhead as well; she had been planning to return the favour, but now found that her limbs were just too heavy to let her move, a hint of regret in her voice when she told the black haired woman just that, earning another low chuckle in response.

"No worries there, love", Pat then told her, making her smile from ear to ear with the pet name, "we'll have all the time in the world for that later on."

"Indeed, we do", Willow reassured her, then kissed her tenderly – before the exhaustion caused by the taller woman won over and she let out a hearty yawn, snuggling closer to her, not even caring that she still was fully naked as she drifted off into sleep, happy and content that things had worked out so well despite everything which had happened between them already.

* * *

"Okay, I know this will cost me", Xander declared a few days later as they all had assembled in the demon's apartment for dinner, sitting around the kitchen table and feeling stuffed now that the rather big meal had been finished, "Willow? Remember your demon-magnet jokes? Who's sleeping with a demon now?"

"Says the man who's sleeping with an ex-demon", Willow shot back at once, "and you're right, Xander, this will cost you, but not today. I'm too stuffed for vengeance."

"I was never too stuffed for vengeance", Anya shrugged, "and I can't say that I can't understand you, Willow, I mean, demons to make great partners in bed. A literal demon in the sack, they have much more stamina than humans! Surely you noticed by now?"

"…well, um", Willow struggled to find an appropriate answer to that while next to her, Pat just smirked, "I guess you could say so."

"I knew it", Anya nodded, "I remember this one guy I was dating, Morallt'ach demon, he was really…" She finally noticed that Xander was looking quite upset by now and hurriedly changed her tune by reassuring him that he was just as good as any demon she'd ever had, probably even better.

"What do you mean, probably", Xander argued back at once, the rest listening in stunned silence at this kind of talk, since it was rather inappropriate for the dinner table, even if said dinner already had been polished off, "and how many were there? Wait, I don't really want to know. Don't tell me."

"You better get used to that", Willow whispered to Pat, having noticed the way the black haired woman had raised an eyebrow, "they do that all the time."

"Good to know", the demon dryly gave back, making the witch giggle slightly before she nodded; then, she tuned the bickering couple out as she leaned in for a kiss, smiling tenderly at her lover afterwards, marvelling at how good and how right this was feeling, after all they had gone through to end up in this place.


End file.
